


Five Times Joe Gibken Needed Help (and one time he helped someone else)

by hakaseheart



Series: Counseling [3]
Category: Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, Kamen Rider Fourze
Genre: AU, Crossover, M/M, Prequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-31
Updated: 2012-08-30
Packaged: 2017-11-13 05:44:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/500140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hakaseheart/pseuds/hakaseheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amanogawa isn't the sort of school to close the gate early, but that doesn't mean Joe wants to be this late on his first day of high school.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [butyoumight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/butyoumight/gifts).



> Prequel to [Counseling](http://archiveofourown.org/works/348131/chapters/565889).

The bell is already ringing as Joe jumps out of the car and bolts for the school gate. Amanogawa isn't the sort of school to close the gate early, but that doesn't mean Joe wants to be this late on his first day of high school. He curses his mother's driving under his breath as he tears through the front door and rounds the corner as tightly as he can manage.

It seems he can't manage it after all. His foot catches on something and he tumbles face-first to the hallway floor, bag flying from his hand and scattering books across the tile. The pain in his knees is nothing compared to the bright blush of shame that's blossoming on his cheeks, and he hurriedly grabs for his books while trying desperately to ignore the chorus of laughter around him.

Joe bites his lip as he gathers his things. This was not how he wanted things to go, not in any way. It's made even worse when a foot stomps down on his last remaining book, pulling it back and away from his outstretched hand. “Better watch where you're going, freshman,” comes a rough voice, and Joe looks up to see an upperclassman grinning down at him like a shark. “It'd be a shame to ruin such pretty books, yeah?”

For a moment Joe flounders. He's always been tall enough to avoid most bullying, but he's caught off guard and isn't quite sure how to defend himself. Not to mention that if he does defend himself, it might grow into something too big for him to handle. He chews on his lip and bows his head, ready to submit to the bigger, badder student.

For now.

“Yeah, it would be,” comes another voice, and Joe nearly gives himself whiplash in trying to see who the newcomer is. It's another upperclassman, the top two buttons of his uniform undone and his bag slung casually over his shoulder. “So you should stop ruining them. Yeah?”

The bully turns to glare at the newcomer, but once he gets a proper look his eyes go wide. “Uh, yeah,” he finally replies, lifting his foot and stepping away from Joe. “I think I'll do that.” He looks down at Joe briefly, then back up at the upperclassman, before shoving his hands in his pockets and skulking down the hallway.

“Sorry about that,” the newcomer says, once the bully's out of earshot. “Some guys are just assholes.” He kneels down, and Joe can clearly see the odd flashes of white streaking through the older boy's hair. “Here.”

The word takes Joe by surprise, and he looks down to see the boy handing him the last book. “Ah,” he stammers, not entirely sure where his words have gone. “T-thanks.”

“No problem,” the older boy says, then smiles before standing up and walking off, leaving Joe stunned on the floor until the final homeroom bell rings.


	2. Chapter 2

The lights overhead begin to flicker on, one by one, as the evening sky grows even darker in the far corner of downtown. People bustle by on all sides, rushing to and from destinations, ultimately heading towards the end of their night that's anywhere but here.

Joe, however, creeps cautiously from block to block, keeping his eyes peeled for any firm indication of where he might be. He clutches to a scrap of a paper, decorated with a crudely drawn map, theoretically indicating where he needs to actually go. When his classmates had suggested meeting for karaoke, it had sounded like a decent way of making new friends. Then Joe had taken one wrong turn, or maybe two, and found himself utterly lost in the worst area of town he'd ever been in.

Around the next corner is a small bar, then a hostess club, and half a block further is a small lot with two scantily clad women and a man decked out in more gold than Joe has ever seen in his life. He steers clear of the lot, avoiding the sequins and lamé to turn down an even darker street in his desperate attempt to find someplace even remotely familiar. 

Or if not familiar, at least safe.

Joe is so focused on what he's avoiding, however, that he neglects to pay attention to where he's going, and collides face-first with a firm, broad chest. He stumbles for a moment, dazed, before taking a step backwards and dipping into a deep bow. "Excuse me!" he says emphatically, already mortified at hearing how much of his fear has crept into his voice. "I wasn't looking where I was going!"

"Obviously," comes a familiar voice, followed by a surprisingly friendly chuckle. Joe tentatively looks up, following the broad chest to a face framed by white-streaked black hair. "You seem to be pretty good at that."

Joe finds himself blushing fiercely at the upperclassman from the week before. He's no longer in his school uniform, but Joe recognizes those eyes immediately, looking down at him far more kindly than Joe deserves. "I'm sorry," he mumbles further, straightening up but keeping his face lowered. "I've...sort of managed to get myself lost." 

What little amusement was on the upperclassman's face quickly melts away, and his eyes dart from Joe's face to the street. "This isn't a good part of town to be lost in," he says quietly, the edges of his voice tinged with warning, or perhaps, concern.

He reaches out with one strong hand and grabs Joe lightly by the shoulder. "Come on," he says, giving him the gentlest of pushes to spur him along. "Let me show you to the train station."

"Is that okay?" Joe blurts without thinking. "I mean, I don't want to be a bother." But the older boy just smiles and shakes his head, and Joe follows along, pretending he doesn't hear the voice calling after them as they walk back towards the good part of town.


	3. Chapter 3

Joe is maybe a third of the way through his lunch when three larger freshmen surround his chair. Students further down the table shrink away even more, sticking with the time-honored excuse of not seeing something when it happens. Joe holds in a sigh and, stubbornly, keeps eating.

"Oi, kid," the biggest one says, despite the fact they're the same age. "Your lunch cash. You owe us, from the other day."

Joe calmly lifts another bunch of noodles to his mouth. "Do I?" he asks as casually as he can manage. "Whatever for?"

The first boy growls, and the one on Joe's left answers. "For not kicking your ass every day this week," he sneers. "So pay up, asswipe."

Joe calmly puts down his chopsticks, reserving all his energy for the punch he's about to aim at the second boy's face. But before he can even stand up, there's a cracking thud and the third bully cries out.

Both remaining bullies and Joe look up in surprise, just as another punch connects with the first boy's face. He doesn't go down as easily as the third boy had - instead he reels for a moment before glaring at their attacker. "What the fuck is your problem?" he spits out, along with a few flecks of blood. "This has nothing to do with you."

Joe bites his lip as he sees the now-familiar newcomer, black hair decorated with streaks of white, rub at the fingers of his right hand. "You're picking on my kouhai," the upperclassman says pointedly. "Of course it's my problem."

The older boys moves to throw another punch, and Joe manages to duck out of the way as the last bully jumps into fight. The scuffle goes on for a few seconds before Joe realizes, with shame, that he should be helping. He waits for an opening, then aims a punch right at the first bully's stomach. Pain blossoms out from his knuckles, but he can't help but smile as the boy doubles over with a grunt of pain.

The fight continues on for nearly half a minute, growing a small crowd of onlookers, before the upperclassman grabs Joe's wrist and pulls him out of the fray. "Come on!" he orders with a smile, and the two go running out of the cafeteria.

They fly through the hallways together, some of them still new to Joe, until they wind their way up a staircase and burst out onto the roof. 

“Hope you were done eating,” the older boy wheezes as he tries to catch his breath. 

Joe just chuckles between gasps. “Done enough, apparently,” he replies after he can stand up straight again. “You know, if you're going to keep saving me, the least you can do is tell me your name.”

The upperclassman gives him a grin worth a million beatings. “Sid Bamick.” He sticks out one hand and waits for Joe to shake it. “And it's the least I can do.”


	4. Chapter 4

"I just don't understand this stuff," Joe moans, slumping forward over the desk and pushing his pencil to the floor in the process. It lands with a rattle and rolls off underneath Sid's bed. "Why do I have to learn math? It's not like I'm ever going to use this kinda thing outside of school."

Sid bites back a knowing grin and pats Joe on the back before going to retrieve the wayward writing utensil. "You really never know when standard deviations will be useful, Joe." He stands up, pencil in hand, and fixes the back of Joe's head with a critical stare. "Besides, you need to think about your future. Your best class is gym. But you don't want to be a gym teacher when you grow up, do you?"

Joe grimaces against the table as he thinks about their older, surprisingly unfit gym teacher. "No," he groans in defeat as he lifts his head. He takes the pencil back from Sid with one hand and glares back down at the offending homework. “Now if only gym made learning this stuff any easier."

He spends another moment channeling his hatred at the paper before looking back up at Sid with curious eyes. Enough of thinking about math for the moment – Joe would much rather move on to more interesting topics. "What about you, senpai?" he asks, using the term more out of endearment than respect or duty. "What are you working towards?"

Sid chuckles at Joe's awkward phrasing before pulling over an extra chair and sitting down next to him at the desk. "I think I might want to be a teacher, actually," he says with no small amount of wistfulness evident in his voice. "Amanogawa is a great school, but there's still a lack of teachers who actually care about their students. We're given a lot of free reign here, but most schools aren't nearly as lucky. Every student deserves a teacher who isn't just going to support a kid's dream, but work alongside them to make it come true. Whether they're at a fancy science-focused school or not."

The strong feelings in Sid's words are palpable, and Joe finds himself listening intently, mouth slightly open. "Wow," he finally says, trying to figure out how to properly respond. "That's really awesome, senpai."

Sid chuckles again, looking down to the table briefly before catching Joe's eyes with his own. "So really, Joe, I need to teach you standard deviations. For purely selfish reasons."

For a moment Joe is speechless. He doesn't even need to look down to know that Sid has covered his writing hand with both of his own. "Right," he chokes out, his throat suddenly dry. "Selfish...reasons."

The smirk on Sid's lips fades a little, turning more serious, something that Joe only notices because he's suddenly staring at those lips like they might hold the answer to his math problem.

But when those lips press against his own, all thoughts of homework fly from his mind.


	5. Chapter 5

“Your hair,” Sid says, his voice deep and husky and sending tremors through Joe's stomach. “It's so long.”

Joe raises one shaky hand to his head, feeling the soft strands sift through his fingers. “Do you think I should cut it?” It's almost long enough to pull into a ponytail, and Joe can't help but think the look might suit him.

Sid chuckles, that knowing laugh he always has when Joe's being young and naive. “No, don't,” he insists, covering Joe's hand with his own. “I like how it looks on you.”

A small smile spreads across Joe's face, a little self-important grin that he rarely affords himself. But now, with the two of them so close together on Sid's bed, he can't help but feel that there's no point in hiding anything from his senpai.

Especially since both of their uniforms are lying in an unceremonious heap on the floor.

Joe is incredibly aware – almost painfully so – of Sid's naked flesh pressed against his own, of the older boy's knee slowly working its way up the inside of Joe's thigh. Their fingers wind together next to Joe's cheek, Sid brushing the edges of his nails against the soft skin and grinning as Joe gasps at the touch.

“You're amazing,” he whispers, and gently pushes Joe all the way down to the bed.

“Not as amazing as you,” Joe breathes, arching up to keep his body as close to Sid's as possible. 

He's never done this before, never been this close to someone or gone this far. His heart must be racing, he figures, but he can't feel it over the shaking in his arms and legs. As wonderful as it all is, he's terrified that he's going to do something wrong, something so profoundly stupid that Sid will wake up to how useless he is and go elsewhere for his pleasure.

Joe chokes a bit as he thinks this, realizing too late that it's not something he wants to believe in the least. Of course, Sid picks up on it almost immediately and gives him a worried look. “What's wrong?” he asks, his voice soft and caring. 

It almost makes it harder for Joe to tell him the truth. “I'm scared,” he finally admits, pulling his eyes away to look at a far corner of the bed. “I've never done this before, and I don't think...that is, I'm not sure-”

“Shhhhh,” Sid hushes Joe, but when the younger boy doesn't look back up he moves in close to give him a long, needy kiss. “Don't worry about that. I'll help you through it, I promise.”

Joe's eyes had slid shut during the kiss, and when he opens them again he can't help but catch Sid's gaze properly. “Okay,” he says quietly. “If you're sure.”

“Oh, I'm sure.” Sid gives him a smirk, then descends and covers Joe's body completely with his own.


	6. Chapter 6

There's a crowd of students gathered at the school gate, all of them murmuring to themselves while fighting for a better view. Normally Joe wouldn't even bother to stop and look, but something about the number of kids there gives him pause. He creeps to the outside of the crowd and stands on his tiptoes to see.

He's tall, but not quite tall enough to get a good view on what's going on. The crowd opens up at the edge of the sidewalk, meaning that if he stepped into the road he'd get a clear view of the situation at hand. But the street is busy with early-morning traffic, so Joe hops once, twice, trying to get a glimpse of what's causing all the commotion.

On the third hop is when he sees the familiar head of white-streaked hair, and he feels his heart drop into his stomach.

“Out of the way!” he growls and pushes through the crowd. Now that he's paying more attention, he can hear angry words, shouted curses, and the occasional thud of fists hitting flesh. The sounds grow alarmingly silent as he finally bursts through the last wall of students and looks around the inside of the circle.

This just means he has the best view as a punch sends Sid flying backwards, off the curb, tumbling into the middle of the street.

Joe knows what's going to happen before it does. It's his biggest fear, his worst nightmare. The car is a pale aqua color, he notices, a sort of minivan that takes Sid out of view. His ears block the sound out almost as soon as it starts, and he stumbles forward with a choking cry. “SID-SENPAI!”

The crowd scatters, the students in an uproar as they try desperately to not be there anymore. Even the bullies who had sent Sid into the street disappear, blending in with the crowd as they make their way to homeroom.

Joe falls forward into a run, dashing to where the aqua car has stopped and a sheet-white salaryman has climbed out with excuses on his tongue. “Shut up,” Joe grinds out as he dashes to where Sid is lying on the asphalt. “Get help! Call a fucking ambulance already!”

The salaryman takes a step back and pulls out his cell phone, but Joe ignores him as he kneels next to Sid and gently gathers the upperclassman's hands in his own. They've always been so big, so willing to protect him, but for some reason now they feel heartbreakingly small.

“Sid-senpai,” Joe says between choking breaths, ignoring the tears already streaming down his cheeks. “I'm here. I'm here.”

There's a pause, and then Sid opens his eyes and looks up at Joe, a small smile playing at his lips. “Of course you are,” he whispers through bloodied lips. “Now...go learn.”

His eyes fall shut once more, his hands go limp in Joe's grasp.

All Joe can do is scream.


End file.
